The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance
| producer = | camera = | runtime = 60 minutes | company = The Jim Henson Company | distributor = Netflix | channel = Netflix | picture_format = | audio_format = Dolby Digital 5.1 | first_aired = August 30, 2019 | last_aired = }} The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is an upcoming Netflix television series. It is a prequel to the 1982 Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal. There will be ten episodes and the series will explore the world of Thra created for the original film. On May 21, 2019, it was announced that the series will premiere on August 30, 2019. Synopsis The story follows three Gelflings—Rian, Brea and Deet—who inspire a rebellion against the Skeksis when they discover a horrifying secret behind their power that threatens their world of Thra. Voice cast Main * Taron Egerton as Rian: A Gelfling crystal castle guard of the Stonewood Clan * Anya Taylor-Joy as Brea: A Gelfling princess of the Vapra Clan * Nathalie Emmanuel as Deet: A Gelfling animal carer of the Grottan Clan * Donna Kimball as Aughra: The embodiment of the planet Thra and an astronomer Recurring Gelflings * Eddie Izzard as Cadia: A member of the Sifa Clan * Helena Bonham Carter as Maudra Mayrin/The All-Maudra: Leader of the Vapra Clan, the Gelfling queen and mother of Seladon, Tavra and Brea * Caitriona Balfe as Tavra: A warrior of the Vapra Clan and one of Brea's sisters * Harris Dickinson as Gurjin: A member of the Drenchen Clan and Rian's best friend * Shazad Latif as Kylan: A song teller of the Spriton Clan * Toby Jones as The Librarian: A member of the Vapra Clan who works in the library of the Vapra Citadel * Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Seladon: A member of the Vapra Clan and one of Brea's sisters * Lena Headey as Maudra Fara/The Rock Singer: Leader of the Stonewood Clan * Alicia Vikander as Mira: A member of the Vapra Clan, a crystal castle guard and Rian's girlfriend * Hannah John-Kamen as Naia: A member of the Drenchen Clan and Gurjin's twin sister * Natalie Dormer as Onica: A member of the Sifa Clan and Tavra's girlfriend * Mark Strong as Ordon: A member of the Stonewood Clan and Rian's father * Theo James as Rek'yr: A member of the Dousan Clan * Louise Gold as Maudra Argot/The Shadow Bender: Leader of the Grottan Clan * Kemi-Bo Jacobs as Maudra Seethi/The Skin Painter: Leader of the Dousan Clan Skeksis * Jason Isaacs as skekSo/The Emperor: Leader of the Skeksis and the cruel ruler of the Planet Thra * Simon Pegg as skekSil/The Chamberlain: The second in line to the Emperor's throne * Awkwafina as skekLach/The Collector: A cunning Skeksis who loves to collect living creatures * Benedict Wong as skekUng/The General: The quick tempered commander of the Silkspitter army * Harvey Fierstein as skekAyuk/The Gourmand: The organizer of the Skeksis banquets * Andy Samberg as The Heretic: A Skeksis who is against the beliefs of the other Skeksis * Ralph Ineson as skekMal/The Hunter: The wildest and most brutal of the Skeksis * Alice Dinnean as skekEkt/The Ornamentalist: The designer of the Skeksis garments * Keegan-Michael Key as skekZok/The Ritual-Master: The high priest of the Ceremony of the Sun * Mark Hamill as skekTek/The Scientist: An old friend of Aughra who now uses the Dark Crystal for experiments * Neil Sterenberg as skekOk/The Scroll-Keeper: The Crystal Castle's historian Other * Dave Goelz as Baffi: An eyepatch wearing Fizzgig * Theo Ogundipe as Vliste-Staba: The Sanctuary Tree * Ólafur Darri Ólafsson as urVa/The Archer: The urRu/Mystic counterpart of skekMal * Sigourney Weaver as The Myth Speaker * Victor Yerrid as Hup: A Podling who is a friend of Deet Puppeteer cast * Alice Dinnean performs Gelflings Brea, Maudra Fara and Skeksis skekEkt/The Ornamentalist * Beccy Henderson performs Gelflings Deet and Naia * Dave Chapman performs Gelflings Gurjin, Ordon and Skeksis skekSo/The Emperor * Damian Farrell performs The Skeksis Heretic * Helena Smee performs Gelflings Seladon, Mira and Skeksis skekLach/The Collector * Kat Smee performs Augrah, Gelfling Deet, Skeksis skekUng/The General, skekSil/The Chamberlain and Podling Hup * Kevin Clash performs Augrah, Skeksis skekUng/The General, skekMal/The Hunter and The Gelfling Librarian * Louise Gold performs Gelflings Onica, Maudra Argot, Maudra Mayrin and Skeksis skekAyuk/The Gourmand * Olly Taylor performs Gelflings Rek'yr, Cadia, Skeksis skekTek/The Scientist and Mystic urVa/The Archer * Victor Yerrid performs Podling Hup, Skeksis skekZok/The Ritual Master and Gelfling Kylan * Warrick Brownlow-Pike performs Skeksis skekSil/The Chamberlain * Neil Sterenberg performs Gelflings Rian, Tavra and Skeksis skekOk/The Scroll Keeper Production Pre-production Initially conceived as a feature-length sequel to The Dark Crystal entitled The Power of the Dark Crystal, the project was for years in a state of development hell. In 2012, director Louis Leterrier expressed an interest in joining Jim Henson Productions in their project shortly after the release of Clash of the Titans, hoping to interest large studios, but was repeatedly turned down as, according to him, they were only interested in Transformers, and many executives had never heard of The Dark Crystal. It was during this impasse that Leterrier decided to shoot a prequel series rather than a film sequel because of the richness of material available in Jim Henson and Frank Oz's notes on the events leading up to the original film.Abigail Chandler, You Absolute Muppet, SciFiNow, 161, 2019: 18-25 Lisa Henson identified the "Wall of Destiny" from the original film as a "jumping point": "What was that culture? What was lost? What was that beautiful Gelfling civilization?" Jeff Addiss, Will Matthews and Javier Grillo Marxuach, all fans of The Dark Crystal, were subsequently hired as writers. The project was eventually sold to Netflix after Leterrier found a studio executive who shared the team's enthusiasm for the original film. Development In May 2017, it was announced that The Jim Henson Company, in association with Netflix, would produce a prequel to the film The Dark Crystal. The series, written by Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, and Javier Grillo-Marxuach, began filming in the United Kingdom in November 2017 with Louis Leterrier serving as director. At New York Comic Con in 2018, Leterrier insisted that the series would depend on puppetry and not CGI, except for the use of green screens to remove puppeteers. On December 17, 2018, the 36th anniversary of the original film's release, the voice cast was revealed, as well as some images of the main Gelfling characters. It will be released in 2019. On May 30, 2019, Netflix released a teaser trailer and poster for the series, announcing its official release date on August 30, 2019. Additional voice actors were announced on June 26, including Awkwafina, Lena Headey, Hannah John-Kamen, Sigourney Weaver and Benedict Wong. Design The puppets were fabricated in early 2017 in Jim Henson's Creature Shop in Los Angeles, then exported to Langley Studios in London, with Muppet veteran Dave Goelz and The Dark Crystal's concept artist Brian Froud participating in performing and designing the characters. Aside from Froud's new sketches, the original film's tie-in book, The World of the Dark Crystal, was used as a reference point. Other sources of inspiration in building the world of Thra included Game of Thrones and The Last Airbender. According to Toby Froud, the first season of the show will make use of 20 principal puppets, with an additional 90 for secondary roles. Unlike the original film, the Gelfling puppets require only two puppeteers, as opposed to four in The Dark Crystal, thus permitting greater freedom of movement. Also, while the animatronic components of the original film's Gelfling puppets were controlled via cables, the mechanical parts of the new Gelflings were remotely operated via a modified Wii controller. Marketing On May 30, 2019, the first teaser trailer for the series was released and received a generally favorable response with Tasha Robinson, writing for The Verge, writing 'what's most compelling about this trailer, though, is the stunning fidelity to the original film'. Video game During a Nintendo Direct at E3 2019, it was announced that a video game based on the Netflix series, called The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics, was in development by BonusXP and En Masse Entertainment. The game is set to release sometime in 2019 for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and macOS.Romano, Sal (June 11, 2019). "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics announced for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC". Gematsu.com. Retrieved June 16, 2019. References External links * Category:2010s American children's television series Category:Netflix children's programming Category:Netflix original programming Category:American children's fantasy television series Category:American prequel television series Category:Upcoming television series Category:English-language television programs Category:Television programs based on films Category:American television programs featuring puppetry Category:Television series by The Jim Henson Company Category:The Dark Crystal